Can the UK afford to host Ukraine’s Eurovision? It can’t afford not to

The U.K. volition big the 67th Eurovision Song Contest connected May 13.

Celebrated and spoofed by audiences crossed the globe, the world's largest singing contention has go thing of a taste instauration successful the 7 decades since its launch.

But down the audacious performances and adjacent much outlandish outfits, the yearly contention is besides seen arsenic a conveyance of governmental and economical powerplay.

In 2023, that's much the lawsuit than ever.

With the warfare ongoing successful Ukraine (2022's winner), hosting duties person been assumed by second-place Great Britain, and Russia has been booted from the contest. Rising costs person prompted immoderate countries to bow retired earlier the contention has adjacent begun.

So conscionable what is the outgo of the contention — and is it worthy it?

First held successful Lugano, Switzerland, successful 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest was dreamed up by the European Broadcasting Union, an confederation of nationalist broadcasters, arsenic a mode of celebrating the civilization and unity of a recently defined post-war Europe.

Though the EBU says the Eurovision is apolitical, the contest's intersection with European relations has been noted.

"Every twelvemonth connected the Eurovision signifier we've seen political, societal messages being projected done the songs, done the performances of artists," said Dean Vuletic, historiographer of modern Europe astatine the University of Vienna and writer of "Postwar Europe and the European Song Contest."

"This is wherefore radical emotion to ticker Eurovision due to the fact that it's ever a reflection of the governmental zeitgeist successful Europe," helium added.

In the decades since it was established, the contention has grown greatly, incorporating adjacent non-European countries specified arsenic Australia. Yet it remains a co-production betwixt EBU nationalist broadcasters, with each participating countries — typically astir 40 — paying a interest to instrumentality part.

Europe's biggest economies — Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain, different known arsenic the Big Five — pay the most, based connected the EBU's "solidarity principle," which states that the strongest shoulders should "carry the astir weight." They besides automatically suffice for the final.

Other countries past lend varying amounts to the pot, which successful caller years has totaled astir $7 million. But with inflationary pressures weighing heavy connected Europe successful 2023, those fees were deemed excessively overmuch for some, with Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia pulling retired of this year's lawsuit for fiscal reasons.

Still, the main outgo of holding the contention is shouldered by the big state — typically the erstwhile year's victor — whose work it is to enactment connected a amusement to remember. Those sums person varied vastly implicit the years — with immoderate countries much forthcoming than others.

In 2013, the Swedish metropolis of Malmo reportedly took pridefulness successful hosting its lawsuit for astir $20 million. That's good beneath the $42 million spent by Moscow successful 2009, the astir $30 million paid retired by Dusseldorf successful 2011, and the $54 million dished retired by Copenhagen successful 2014.

But the crown for the priciest Eurovision to day is held by Azerbaijan's superior Baku, which successful 2012 spent betwixt a whopping $64 cardinal and $76 million connected the lawsuit unsocial — not to notation the $100 cardinal it spent connected a caller stadium to big it.

In 2023, the U.K. is expected to walk up to $30 cardinal to clasp the contest, arsenic big Liverpool seeks to bespeak Ukrainian civilization portion showcasing the champion of British euphony and creativity. 

As big broadcaster, the BBC volition ft the bulk of the measure — an estimated $10 cardinal to $21 cardinal — portion the U.K. authorities has said it volition lend $12 million.

That budget is topped up by summons sales, sponsorship deals and revenues from online platforms. Meanwhile, Liverpool's section authorities volition walk a further $5 million, mostly connected events extracurricular of the arena.

"Culture's truly important to this country, and the mode that we represent our civilization and represent our individuality internationally is hugely important. Tourism successful Liverpool is worthy 47% of our economy. So this isn't chickenhearted provender for us, this is really, truly important," Claire McColgan, manager of civilization astatine Liverpool City Council, said.

The lawsuit comes astatine a challenging clip for the U.K. economy, which is struggling to support up with its European neighbors amid soaring ostentation and debased economical growth. In 2022, the U.K. was the lone large system that failed to instrumentality to pre-pandemic maturation rates, alternatively recording a contraction. In 2023, it is expected to shrink by a further 0.3%.

It besides comes arsenic the BBC undergoes large cuts and tries to plug a £1.4 cardinal spread successful its finances aft the authorities froze the licence fee.

"Rarely person we had the accidental to signifier Eurovision, but it's our time. We were evidently really, truly honored to instrumentality it connected on behalf of Ukraine, and hopefully it's a large accidental to amusement what the BBC does truly well," said Martin Green, managing manager of BBC Eurovision 2023.

"We'll astir apt enactment a afloat fig retired erstwhile we're done," helium added of the BBC budget. "It's a moveable feast astatine the infinitesimal and we're close successful the mediate of it."

With each that expense, wherefore would the U.K. privation to big the event, particularly aft scoring poorly oregon being infamously awarded the dreaded null points truthful galore times successful caller years? 

For one, the contention tin beryllium a large advert for the big metropolis — and state — which tin endure good aft the enactment is over. In 2019, Tel Aviv's lawsuit reached implicit 180 cardinal TV viewers successful implicit 40 markets, and millions much online.

"It's thing that countries enactment connected their C.V. erstwhile they're aspiring to big events similar the Olympic Games oregon the World Cup," Vuletic said. "Just deliberation astir Russia: It hosted Eurovision successful 2009 and afterwards hosted the wintertime Olympic Games successful Sochi and the World Cup for Soccer."

That tin besides pull tourism spending and boost the section economy. 2022's big Turin, a metropolis successful bluish Italy, spent astir $11 cardinal hosting the lawsuit but said it made that wealth backmost seven times over done tourism.

James Bates, managing manager astatine Maray Restaurants successful Liverpool, said helium anticipates a 50% uptick successful concern during the lawsuit alone.

"People talk astir the ripple effect, and we surely saw that successful 2008, erstwhile we were Capital of Culture. The metropolis is talking astir the boost successful visitant numbers arsenic akin to [that], which was benignant of transformative for the city," helium said.

"Liverpool metropolis assembly invested £2 cardinal and wrong six weeks we've brought successful £15 cardinal of existent currency concern to assistance america enactment this superb contention on. But the economical interaction is bigger than that," McColgan said. "We've estimated the economical interaction I deliberation astatine £22 million. I deliberation it's going to transcend that completely, due to the fact that the visitant numbers exceeded that connected time one."

The lawsuit plays an important relation successful showcasing a country's brushed power, too, done arts and civilization — thing some the U.K. and Ukraine are anxious to do. 

"We tin amusement the satellite our courage, our bravery, our strength, and animate each radical to beryllium similar Ukrainians, beryllium united, beryllium strong, combat for your freedom, combat for your land, and for your families," said Ukraine's 2023 entrant, Tvorchi.

"That brushed broadside and that promotion of U.K. PLC internationally makes the concern good worthy it," the BBC's Green added.

Crucially, though, the contention represents 1 much enactment of solidarity with Ukraine, and a reformulation of U.K.-EU relations arsenic Britain seeks to re-establish its beingness successful Europe aft Brexit. 

"The different governmental discourse that we person to besides presumption the contention successful this twelvemonth is that of Brexit," Vuletic said. "For galore Eurosceptics successful Britain, Eurovision has been a awesome of what is incorrect with Europe. Since 2000, British entries person tended to people rather debased of the scoreboard, starring Britons to knock Europeans for not liking Britain anymore."

"Last year, that changed. The United Kingdom came second," helium added. "So we besides person to spot this variation of Eurovision arsenic being a rekindling of a British emotion matter with Eurovision and of British relations with Europe."